From the date of Otterburn to the accession of Henry IV there was peace
between Scotland and England, except for the never-ending border
skirmishes. Robert II died in 1390, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
John, Earl of Carrick, who took the title of Robert III, to avoid the
unlucky associations of the name of John, which had acquired an
unpleasant notoriety from John Balliol as well as John of England and
the unfortunate John of France. Under the new king the treaty with
France was confirmed, but continuous truces were made with England till
the deposition of Richard II.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 50: Douglas disappeared from the scene immediately after King
Robert's death, taking the Bruce's heart with him on a pilgrimage to
Palestine. He was killed in August, 1330, while fighting the Moors in
Spain, on his way to the Holy Land.]
[Footnote 51: Minot. Tr. F. York Powell.]
CHAPTER VI
SCOTLAND, LANCASTER, AND YORK
1400-1500
When Henry of Lancaster placed himself on his cousin's throne, Scotland
was divided between the supporters of the Duke of Rothesay, the eldest
son of Robert III and heir to the crown, and the adherents of the Duke
of Albany, the brother of the old king. In 1399, Rothesay had just
succeeded his uncle as regent, and to him, as to Henry IV, there was a
strong temptation to acquire popularity by a spirited foreign policy.
The Scots hesitated to acknowledge Henry as King of England, and he, in
turn, seems to have resolved upon an invasion of Scotland as the first
military event of his reign.
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